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What does x equal if x square equals -3?
If you want to work with real numbers, there is no answer. the square of any number, whether positive or negative, is a positive number, so x2 cannot be -3. If you accept complex numbers as a solution, the square root of minus 1 is called i (when squared, both i and -i give -1); the square root of -3 is equal to the square root of 3 times i, the square root of -4 is 2i, etc. Complex numbers are frequently used in some areas of science (electricity, quantum mechanics, and others); in other areas, it just doesn't make sense to use them. Similarly, for some problems fractional solutions, or negative solutions, may be acceptable, for others, not.
Is the square root of -4 irrational?
The square root of -4 is not irrational, it is imaginary. Irrational numbers are numbers that cannot be expressed as a fraction, like the square root of 2. Irrational numbers, however, are a subset of real numbers. The square root of -4 however, is not even a real number because no real number, when squared, gives -4. Therefore the square root of -4 is an imaginary number.In calculus, the root is expressed as 2i where iis the square root of -1.
